Five Questions For Glenn Beck

First, let me say that I think the world of Glenn Beck. He is on my Mt. Rushmore of Conservative Heroes along with Ronald Reagan, Rush Limbaugh and William F. Buckley, Jr. as the four men who have done the most to secure the republic in my lifetime. One of the things that I love about Glenn is that he loves to learn as much, maybe even more, than he loves to teach. As a matter of fact, while I think he approaches teaching as a duty, I suspect he actually finds it, at times, burdensome.

The Saturday before the reelection of Barack Obama, my wife and I had the chance to speak to Glenn Beck for a few moments and found him to be incredibly kind and very humble. Since then, many things have changed in the country and I thought to myself, if I had that chance again, what would I ask?

I do think Glenn is an honest man and so I don’t think that he’d take the following as a challenge to his character; at least that is my hope. So here goes:

ONE: If Gandhi or MLK Jr. were Chinese would we even know their name?

I’ve heard you say on a number of occasions that we should emulate MLK Jr. and Gandhi in their ideas of peaceful resistance to tyranny, but Glenn, isn’t it true that these two guys led successful movements because of who their opponents were even more than who they themselves were? In other words, if Gandhi and Dr. King were in Tiananmen or even Tahrir Square leading peaceful protests, isn’t it more likely that we’d know them like we know “tank-guy,” as a nameless/faceless/voiceless victim?

Don’t take my word for it, take a trip for yourself to Gandhi’s house and regard the banner on the front veranda. The one that sports the quote from Bertrand Russell: “It is doubtful that the efforts of the Mahatma would have succeeded except that he was appealing to the conscience of a Christianized people”.

When the evangelist, Ravi Zacharias saw this sign he was stunned by the irony that “the home of Gandhi, the pantheist, displayed a banner quoting Russell, the atheist, who said the former’s efforts would not have succeeded save for the theists.”

Now tell me, dear Glenn, do you believe that Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett and Eric Holder are closer to the worldview of the British Colonialists, the American segregationists or the Red Chinese and the Muslim Brotherhood? I’ll hang up now and wait for your answer.

TWO: What would you think of an Austrian or German man who in 1934 fantasized about killing his “leader?”

Would he be a paranoid, homicidal, conspiracy nut or a visionary who just saw things quicker and clearer than Dietrich Bonhoeffer? What if he thought the NAZI Party was not a legitimate party; was an enemy to the motherland and needed to be fought against with all possible contingencies? And what would be the difference between that man in 1934 and Dietrich Bonhoeffer in 1941?

Simply put, do you disagree with John Adams when he wrote in A Defence of the Constitutions of Government, “The right of a nation to kill a tyrant, in cases of necessity, can no more be doubted, than to hang a robber, or kill a flea. But killing one tyrant only makes way for worse, unless the people have sense, spirit and honesty enough to establish and support a constitution guarded at all points against the tyranny of the one, the few, and the many.”

THREE: If Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson were here today, what would they be saying, writing, planning and doing?

I think it’s doubtful that they’d be going to a “Tea-Party” golf outing. I think these were more serious men. These were the sons of Issachar. Maybe you can ask David Barton — off the record of course. And while you’re over at David’s you can ask him about the real Thomas Jefferson, not the one that you’ve carefully crafted as a justification for being AWOL on the moral issues of our day. Or to put it as a question:

About the author, John Kirkwood: John Kirkwood is a son of Issachar. He is a Zionist, gun-toting, cigar-smoking, incandescent light bulb-using, 3.2 gallon flushing, fur-wearing, Chinese (MSG) eating, bow-hunting, SUV driving, unhyphenated American man who loves his wife, isn't ashamed of his country and does not apologize for his Christianity. He Pastors Grace Gospel Fellowship Bensenville, where "we the people" seek to honor "In God we Trust." He hosts the Christian wake up call IN THE ARENA every Sunday at noon on AM 1160 and he co-hosts UnCommon Sense, the Christian Worldview with a double shot of espresso on UncommonShow.com. He is the proud homeschooling dad of Konnor, Karter and Payton and the "blessed from heaven above" husband of the Righteous and Rowdy Wendymae. View all articles by John Kirkwood

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